Halo: Power of Honor
by WinstontheNinja
Summary: After escaping the destruction of the Ark, the Chief and the Arbiter have no choice but to go to cyrosleep aboard the remains of the Dawn. Their peaceful sleep will soon be interrupted as they crash-land on Etheria and help the Great Rebellion fight against the Tyrannical forces of the Horde. Will they save the planet and its inhabitants, or leave it in total destruction?
1. Chapter 1: Awakening

**Authors Note: What it is! Hello everyone this is my first crossover story, and this chapter might be more of a pilot chapter. Also this story will take place after the Battle of Installation 00 in Halo 3 to Halo 4, but this time the Arbiter is also stuck with the Chief because it is an Alternative universe.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer:I do not own any Halo or She-ra content but all the original ideas from the story is mine.**

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><p>Chapter 1: Wake up<p>

UNSC Forward unto Dawn

2557 AD - 4 years after the Ark event

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><p>Deep in the pitch blackness in unknown regions of space, floating among charred metal debris, lay the scarred remains of the famous Charon-class frigate known as the <em>Forward unto Dawn.<em> The legendary starship, had been split into two by a collapsing slipspace portal, leaves the two greatest heroes of UNSC and the Covenant Seperatists, stranded in space with no hope of returning to Earth or any known UNSC space.

John 117, known to UNSC soldiers and Covenant alike as the _Master Chief _and Demon, is a super solider of the SPARTAN II program and was at every major offensive in the days of the Human-Covenant War. With him is the _Arbiter, _also known as Thel 'Vadam after he and his Sangheili brothers left the Covenant starting the Great Schism.

Upon reaching Earth with their Human allies, The Arbiter found the Chief, which the latter almost killed Thel with Johnson's M9 Magnum pistol. After their rocky start, they soon fought through Covenant Loyalist and Flood together, bonding them unofficially into Brothers. With the Arbiter's assistance, The Master Chief retrieves his long-lost AI Cortana from the Flood-infested High Charity and escapes the destruction of the Ark on the _Dawn. _The malfunction of the Slipspace drive, However, sliced the entire ship into two, teleporting the second half into uncharted space.

Knowing that they won't be receiving help anytime soon, John-117 along with Thel enter cryosleep, leaving Cortana remembering his parting words. "_Wake us, when you need us." _Those very words still echoed in her artificial mind.

Four years has past, four long years. For her it had been a long time sitting alone with nothing but thoughts and two frozen cryo pods to keep her company. For her, the experience began to worsen as rampancy threatened to consume her. With nothing to do she can only think, and possibly think to death.

She thought about the origin of the ancient Forerunners, their sacrifice and the reseeding of the galaxy, the consuming Flood, the waning days of the Human-Covenant War, and her companionship with John in her relatively short life.

He had been with her since the beginning of her life-span, when Dr. Halsey gave John the AI as a "Present". He was her Knight in shining armor, quite literally, her Sword and Shield, the only thing that kept her going. When he was forced to leave her in High Charity, she felt the entire world blacken around her. But the emotions that she only could feel when John fought through the infected city of High-Charity was to keep a promise to get her back. To most individuals she was just a normal smart AI, but to John she was a normal like a human being, worthy enough to call him by his first name.

Cortana lay on the metal pedestal, glowing a soft blue aura, warming the cold and dark, airless Cryobay with her presence. It was here that she watched the Master Chief and the Arbiter deep in their icy slumber through those long four years. But this time, after four long years, something wasn't right. She felt a sense of dread flow through her artificial body as the distress signal she created emitted from the _Dawn's coms._

_"Mayday, Mayday, Mayday- This is FFG201 Forward Unto Dawn requesting immediate evac- Survivors aboard, Prioritization code; Victor Zero Five dash Three dash Sierra One One Seven"_

Seconds later the entire ship shook violently as the _Dawn's _alarm system blared through the speakers. The momentary shake shook Cortana out of her thoughts, and took the time to analyze the situation.

She feared the worst.

The ship has been caught in the gravity of a nearby planet and is about to crash-land there. With no Bridge control and reactor power at low level, the chances of avoid said planet is practically slim to nil.

She altered her ball form into her signature Human form: beautiful face, short blue hair and eyes, data streams flowing throughout her slender, holographic body. She brought up the manuel interface for the cryopods, shifting through commands, before bringing up the pods that currently held John and Thel. Taking a deep breath, she activated the pod's defrosting procedure, watching the Spartan and Sangheili's pods slowly begin to thaw.

"_Wake up Chief...I need you."_

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><p>Whispering Woods - Etheria<p>

Rebel Leader Adora affectionately pets her beloved horse Spirit as he drank some water from a nearby stream, sighing from the very needed relaxation from the conflict with the Horde.

"Its nice to get away from the Rebellion and the Horde for a while." She thought to herself. The blonde rebel was lost in thought that she didn't notice the sky began to glow with burning light.

She remembered about her time when she was force captain of Horde, how her brother He-man became a turning point in her life by giving her the Sword of Protection which granted her the powers and abilities of She-ra, and how she defected from the Horde and joined the Great Rellion in their cause to liberate Etheria from Hordak's dictative rule. Oh how everything changed indeed.

Unbeknownst to her, her adventure was going to change with an arrival of some unexpected visitors.

A rumbling coming from the sky effectively snapped Adora from her musings.

"Wait whats that?" Adora asked as she spotted a 'meteor' came down from the atmosphere. Narrowing her eyes, she watched the object slowly began to fall through reentry. At first glance, she assumed it to be a normal astronomical piece of rock, but at closer inspection, she began to realize the falling object was more than just a simple meteor.

'Wait...thats not a meteor it's a ship!' She gasps.

It's bulky in size, probably bulkier than any ship she had ever seen before. She can vaguely spot gun emplacements attached to each side, along with two large wings prodding from the left and right ends, probably engines.

"It looks like a military warship of some kind," She mused. There are words on the side of the ship and it looks incomplete but she couldn't tell any further when fire engulfed the entire vessel. Danger presented itself as the ship looked like it was going to crash on the surface and she feared it might bode unwanted attention from the Horde.

The rebellion leader then decided she will need help from a certain blonde maiden, one that was definitely close by.

"This looks like a job for She-ra" she said to Spirit. The horse snorted in response, water dripping from his snot.

Drawing the Sword of Protection from a hidden sheath, she drew the weapon into the air, beginning to chant the sacred words.

"For the Honor of Greyskull!" She yelled aloud

The only thing she remembered as Adora of the Great Rebellion was a flash of bright light, then her very being began to change.

**That was Chapter 1 hope you guys enjoy! And yes the UNSC Infinity and the Storm Covenant will make an appearance in this story.**


	2. Chapter 2: Emergency Landing

**Authors Note: Awesome chapter 2 is here! Hopefully this chapter will be as good as the first, who knows. Feel free so send some reviews, good or bad, I can still used them to improve my future chapters. Hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 2:Emergency Landing

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><p>2557 AD - UNSC Forward unto Dawn<p>

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><p>Upper atmosphere of Etheria<p>

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><p>The Chief and the Arbiter slowly came back into consciousness before the AI's holographic eyes, both groaning uncomfortably as they both shifted in their pods. Opening their eyes, they both momentarily panicked, lurching forward as they made contact with the outer glass seal of their pods before pulling back.<p>

"Take it easy you two! You guys have been out for a while!" Cortana warned, trying to reach through their sense of disorientation.

"Where are we?" John asked in his usual deep, gravelly tone. The A.I breathed a sigh of relief.

"We're still aboard the _Dawn." _Cortana replied, glad to actually talk to someone in over four years.

"Why did you wake us?" Thel groaned with apparent contempt.

Cortana's holographic for flickered for a split second, catching John's attention, before replying. "Hang on I'll reboot both of your armor's systems back up." The Chief and the Arbiter nodded in acknowledgment as their HUD's appeared on their visors. Both shifted in their pods as Cortana's voice chirped in.

"Just to let you both know I rewrote both of your armor's firmware while you guys were unconscious." The Spartan looked at his reflection, noticing a slight difference in his armor's appearance. He flexed his arms, feeling a noticeable lightness in his movements.

The Arbiter also inspected his armor, taking note of the more sleeker and angular design compared to his original one. Like the Chief, he realizes the apparent lightness of movements, like heavy weights that had been removed from his very shoulders. He turned towards John.

"Your Construct has been busy." He said in an unusual, sarcastic manner. The Chief smirked behind his helmet while Cortana genuinely smiled at Thel's sense of humor. It was nice to speak with the two of them, even if John was a man of few words while the Arbiter being a Sangheili.

After letting them get used to their new upgrades, she both instructed them to pull the manual release to open the cryopod. The Master Chief, used to extended exposure of cryosleep, opened the pod with ease. The Arbiter however, had never been in a cryo pod before, had relative difficulty finding the manual release. Cortana rolled her eyes, amused by the Arbiter's difficulty finding the release.

"There should be a handle on the top of the pod." She said with a tone of amusement. Following Cortana's instruction, Thel found the release, pulling it as the pod opened up with a hiss. Thel pulled himself out of the pod, standing next to the Chief as they both nodded to each other. Cortan grinned at both of them.

"Seems like old times." John and Thel smiled, but it was hard to tell when the Chief was hiding it under the golden visor of his MJOLNIR Mark VI helmet. Like the rest of his species, the Arbiter had mandibles for a mouth.

"Ready to get back to work?" He asked, while reaching for the chip currently residing in the pedestal. "I thought you'd never ask." She replied as her grin widened, as John pulled the chip out and inserted it into the back of his helmet. Her familiar icy liquid presence enters his mind as she began to merge with the Master Chief's MJOLNIR armor system's which acted like a data core. "I missed being in here, it's so comfy." She said with a deep, relieved sigh.

"Don't get any funny ideas." John patronized.

John-117, along with Thel, began to search for weapons they can use. The Chief finds a standard MA5C Assault Rifle, cocking the bolt and reloading the weapon, while the Arbiter finds a fully loaded Covenant Carbine and his personal deactivated Type-1 Energy sword.

The Energy Sword was the melee weapon of the Covenant, only used by High-ranked Sangheili, had been used to slaughter millions of human civilians and soldiers alike. Even seasoned UNSC veterans shuddered at the horrible memories of this lethal weapon being used against their fallen comrades. Thel activates the weapon, revealing two elegant plasma blades emitting from the left and right side of the bar.

After carefully examine the blades, he deactivates the weapon and attaches it on his left thigh. The Master Chief and the Arbiter began their stroll in the dark corridors of the _Dawn. _

"I'm glad the artificial gravity is online or else we would have to float through this mess." Thel said with a tone of humor. The Chief couldn't agree more, when traveling in Zero Gravity was uncomfortable for him,_ especially_ after the supposed death of his Spartan comrade James-005, who unfortunately had his thruster pack malfunction from a Needler explosion during a battle on the _Circumference._ This setbackmade him one of the few Spartans truly MIA.

The irony...

"Uhh there is no artificial gravity..." Cortana replied sheepishly.

"What?" Both John and Thel exclaimed at the same time. The ship shook as the planet's gravity pulled them towards the atmosphere.

"What was that?" Thel asks bewildered. The _Dawn _shook more violently, descending deeper towards the planet's barrier.

"We've been caught by the gravity of a nearby planet and we are heading towards it as we speak." Cortana explained to both of them.

"We better get to the armory to load up." John said with feeling of dread washing over him.

"Couldn't agree more Spartan." Thel replied. The corridors started to warm up as the ship descends towards the planet during reentry, engulfing the entire vessel in an enormous fireball. "Setting a waypoint now." Cortana chirped in. The Master Chief and the Arbiter nodded in acknowledgement as a blue and purple diamond appeared on their respective HUDs, and they both proceeded down the dark, maze-like corridors of the _Dawn._

The Chief and the Arbiter halted as they made it to the _Dawn's _armory. Checking that the steel doors are shut tight, they both pried open the doors using their natural strength, revealing the weapons cache. Hundreds of UNSC weapons lay on the side racks and on the floor, as well as some Covenant weapons. Considering the UNSC's alliance with the Elites and their followers, it wasn't surprising to see such a variety. Scanning the room, John finds a M6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle, also know as the Spartan Laser.

Examining the weapon, checking that the Laser's energy cells are fully charged, John attaches it on his back with magnetic seals. Turning back, he spots a pile of Fragmentation and Plasma grenades.

Plasma grenades are infamous for having the ability of sticking onto its designated target, when detonating it sprays the enemy with superheated plasma. These tiny little bastards were mostly used against UNSC forces during the Human-Covenant War, with very deadly results.

Collecting the grenades, he spots another human weapon: the BR555 Battle Rifle. Reaching for the rifle, he reluctantly activates the weapon. Thirty-six appears on the small ammo counter on the bottom of the scope. Checking that the weapon doesn't have any defects, he reloads the weapon and slides it on his back with the magnetic seals.

The Master Chief, satisfied with his choice of weapons, turns his attention on the Arbiter.

"Human, what is this weapon?" The asks as he holds out a M739 Light Machine Gun. John suddenly became interested with Thel's choice.

"That is called a SAW, its powerful enough to take down most enemies and has a much higher fire rate than your Covenant Plasma Repeaters."

Intrigued with the weapon's primitive but apparent effectiveness, Thel equips it on his back before turning his attention on another human weapon.

"And this?" he asks holding out a M392 Designated Marksman Rifle.

"That is called a DMR, works like your Carbine, but has much higher accuracy, range, and firepower." John explains. Satisfied, Thel equips the DMR, nodding to the Chief signaling that they're finished with their session. The _Dawn _shakes as gravity pulls it towards the surface of the planet, gaining significant speed. The flaming fireball that engulfs the ship and the stronger gravity threatens to tear the vessel apart. Chunks of titanium metal began to burn off of the aft section and into the planet below.

"We better get to a Pelican before the _Dawn _crashes." Cortana chirps urgently. The Chief and The Arbiter grunted in agreement, the same crystal shaped waypoints that they are used to appear on their visor, sprinting through corridors as they make their way towards the _Dawn'_s hangar.

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><p>Lower Atmosphere - Etheria<p>

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><p>As Swiftwind flew alongside the unknown ship, She-ra took the time to examine the details of the vessel. The corridors of the ship were exposed, as if the entire ship was cut into two separate pieces. The fire died down a bit, making the words on the side of the ship vaguely readable.<p>

_UNSC Forward unto Dawn, _it read in bold white.

_"What is this UNSC?" _She-ra thought to herself quietly. Is it a military organization of some kind? What happened to the ship?, it looked like it went through some kind of battle. She cursed to herself quietly, realizing that she cannot tow the ship to another location. The fires engulfing the "Forward unto Dawn_" _was still too strong and blowing on it with lung power won't help either. This suddenly became difficult, even for her.

Most importantly, where are the crew? If half of the ship is still present where are they now? She-ra hoped they were still alive so she can question them later. But for now she has to warn the Rebellion.

"Come on Swiftwind we have to warn the others." She-ra said to her beloved stead as the latter grunted in agreement. They turn around, heading back towards Whispering Woods.

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><p>Rebel camp - Whispering Woods<p>

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><p>Everything has been going peacefully. There has been no sign of Horde activity for the last few weeks, giving the Great Rebellion a rare but welcome sense of peace. Rebels talked and danced while some listened contently to Bow's exotic music played from his harp. For them it was quite relaxing, as it was like the days before the Horde invaded Etheria many decades ago. Some wished this peace would last forever. Bow continues to concentrate on his notes with profound proficiency when a voice calls out to him.<p>

"Bow!"

Bow opens his eyes, bewildered for a second before finding the owner of the voice overhead.

"She-ra!"

Everyone immediately stops in their tracks, watching She-ra and Swiftwind descend into the Rebel camp with awe and amazement.

"Get everyone ready" She-ra says with a tone of worry as she disembarks off of Swiftwind. Bow, haven't seen She-ra this worried before, raises an eyebrow. "What's the matter? Is it the Horde?" Bow asked with a bit of confusion in his voice.

"No I'll explain along the way, right now we have work to do..." She-ra replies as everyone ran to gather their weapons and supplies.

The goddess turns her head to the sky, still streaking with the trails of fire from the mystery ship she had discovered minutes ago.

She pursed her lips, distantly wondering who these unknown people are.

Friend or Foe?

**Thats Chapter 2 Hope you enjoyed! And yes i left out the 2 weapons only rule but more guns the better. **


	3. Chapter 3: Heroes Collide

**Author's Notes: Sorry if I haven't posted anything yet I've been caught up w_it_h school and other family business shenanigans. The Chief, Arbiter, and Cortana will have the chance to meet She-ra and the Great Rebellion in this chapter. Hope you enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 3: Heroes Collide<p>

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><p>2557 AD - UNSC Forward unto Dawn<p>

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><p>Descending towards the surface of Etheria<p>

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><p>The duo continued walking down the hallway, their heavy footsteps echoing through the corridors of the derelict Charon-class frigate. As they both continued their stroll, John thought about something.<p>

How long were they unconscious?

"Cortana, how long was the Arbiter and I out?" He asked out of the blue.

"4 years, 7 months, 10 days." Cortana replied blankly.

The duo stopped in their tracks, surprised by the AI's response.

_4 years?_ _We've been out for that long? _John thought quietly. He turns to the Elite, who had a similar expression of confusion of his face. No doubt he was thinking the same thing.

"Someone should have found us by now." He said in his monotonous voice.

Thel couldn't agree more.

Ever since the _Dawn's _separation with the rest of their forces, he feared that his Sangheili brothers _might_ have fallen prey to the Prophets and their barbaric minions: the Jirahanae a.k.a "Brutes" by Humans. He pushed those thoughts aside.

R'tas was an excellent commander, Fleet master of the assault carrier _Shadow of Intent _and the _Fleet of Retribution. _He, along with the UNSC, should be able to defend Sanghelios with minimal difficulty. The troubled Sangheili should have no reason to doubt his comrade's skills as a leader. Thel suddenly snapped out of his thoughts, as he and the Chief made to the end of the dark corridor, revealing two large, sealed-tight elevator doors.

"These doors look sealed tight..." John said, nodding to the Arbiter, both forming a solid stance as they attempted to pry the doors open.

"Chief, Arbiter look out!" Cortana cautioned as the metal doors slide open, sucking out all the air in the hallway, depressurizing the area.

Numerous crates came hurling at the duo, smashing against them both and propelling them in to the elevator shaft. Recovering from the blow, John and Thel attempted to grab onto the wall of the shaft - and were successful.

"Because some areas of the ship might have lost pressure." Cortana continued on, a little too late with the warning. The Chief and the Arbiter still clinging on the wall of the elevator shaft, the former grunting in annoyance. "Right..."

They both climbed upwards, hand by hand, the handholds of the shaft groaning slightly. There was a rumble, as chunks of debris came hurtling towards the duo.

"Guys watch out!" Cortana cried out in warning. They both jumped in different direction, latching onto the opposite wall, narrowly missing the debris.

"I didn't think the _Dawn_ had deteriorated so badly." Cortana mumbled. John and Thel continued their climb, dodging falling chunks of debris until they've reached the top of the shaft. Hoisting himself up through the doorway, John put his arm out to assist the Arbiter, which the latter gladly accepted. The Sangheili nodded his thanks to the Spartan before the two proceeded down the hallway and into the _Dawn_'s hangar bay.

The entire bay is a disheveled mess. Warthogs flipped on their sides or upside down, while some were missing a wheel or two. A lone M808B Main Battle Tank, commonly known as the Scorpion tank, stood out from the many piles of titanium scrap. Crates turned over, spilling content on the metal floor. Mechanical tools and weapons littered everywhere. Standing out from them was a vehicle John never expected to see.

It looked like a regular Pelican but at closer inspection you can already tell the difference. The gunship was painted pitch-black compared to the other models which are usually painted olive-green. The pelican also sported a GUA/53 70mm MBHRC Auto cannon, a M8C Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Cannon, and a turret on the top that fires rounds used by the M808 "Scorpion" Tanks that can shred a Banshee to bits. From the black paint-job and the numerous amounts of weaponry, the Spartan had a feeling that ONI might have had a hand in this.

"Gentlemen, may I introduce the G80H-TC/MA "Stealth Pelican", the first of its kind." Cortana chirped in with a grin.

'Could have picked a better name.' John mused, rolling his eyes.

"This bad boy contains a nose mounted auto cannon, missile pods, a Spartan laser, and an integrated Active Camouflage system, courtesy of the Sangheili." Cortana briefly looks at Thel.

"ONI?" John inquired. He can imagine the A.I nodding her head in a yes.

"Shall we?" She asks, gesturing towards the pelican.

"My pleasure." John replied, nodding towards the Arbiter before heading into the cockpit.

The Master Chief and the Arbiter settled down in their seats as they activate the navigation systems and started up the thrusters. The four main engines roar to life as the thrusters gently lifts the occupants a few feet off the ground.

Now they face a new problem. Standing between them and freedom is the jammed hangar bay doors.

"Cortana, see if you open those doors." John says calmly.

"I'm working on it..." Cortana replies. Throughout the cockpit window they can see the weakening titanium armor slowly glowing red from the heat of reentry.

After a few seconds Cortana appears again on the HUD, shaking her head in defeat.

"I can't, the controls for the hangar doors are damaged." She then gave a sassy smirk.

"Looks like we'll have to blast our way through." She said optimistically.

"No problem." John replies.

Squeezing the trigger, the gunship open fires, pelting the titanium door with high-velocity armor-piercing bullets. The barrage effectively destroys them, sending the remains of the door into the planet below.

"We better get out of here, I can feel the ship breaking apart!" Cortana chirps.

"Couldn't agree more." Thel adds nervously.

John punches it, accelerating the pelican out of the hangar bay, descending into the surface of the planet.

After activating the pelican's Active Camouflage, turning the entire gunship invisible, the crew observe the planet below them.

The sight was absolutely breath-taking. Beautiful landscape cover the surface with surrounding mountains drenched in the sunlight, purple trees and pink bushes lay scattered around with hints of civilization loomed around.

Though the Spartan and the Elite themselves weren't much of sightseers, they both couldn't help but marvel at the exotic beauty the planet radiates.

"Cortana, do you know where we are exactly?" The Chief asked curiously. Cortana looks at him, distorting a little, before replying.

"No, this planet isn't charted in any known UNSC databases, and this place is showing pretty massive energy readings." The Chief nods his head as he digests the information.

_'__So we are stuck on an unknown planet with no hope of any rescue' _John thought to himself.

_But what was that distortion? Is something wrong with Cortana?_

"There!" Cortana chirps, stopping the Spartan from voicing his concerns.

"Land us there, the surrounding trees should give our pelican some needed cover."

Taking her advice, John begins to decelerate and land the craft at her designated landing point when he notices something strange. The surrounding trees seemed to sense their presence and move as if they were sentient and aware. Sensing his confusion, Thel turns toward the distracted spartan.

"Human, is something wrong?" The Chief, wiping the look of confusion from behind his helmet, looks back.

"No, it's nothing." He murmurs.

The Pelican decloaks, the thrusters creating a gust of air as the ONI gunship touches down gently. The occupants can vaguely feel the entire vehicle shudder slightly when the landing gears make contact with the ground.

Shutting off the engines, The Master Chief opens up the cargo doors and walks out along with the Arbiter, making their first step on the unknown world. The pink tress that surround them reminded him a lot about old twenty-first century books written by Dr. Seuss, stories he enjoyed as a child before he was abducted into the SPARTAN II program.

The first thing that comes on his mind was reconnaissance; they needed better strategic options. Obtaining intel of the forest and the surrounding area would definitely help them survive until the UNSC finds them. Turning towards Thel, John began to explain their plan.

"We'll need to recon this forest, search any strategic points, and find any civilization so we can gather supplies just in case if we have to stay here longer."

Nodding in acknowledgement, Thel equips his Covenant Carbine and activates his Active Camo while the Chief equips his Battle Rifle, activating his own Active Camo. They both silently head out towards the vast, mysterious forest that surrounds them.

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><p>Rebel Camp - Whispering Woods<p>

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><p>Bow started to digest the details of the "encounter" She-ra had with this unknown ship.<p>

"So what is exactly is this UNSC?" Bow asked with an arched eyebrow. The female rebel merely gave a nonchalantly shrug in response.

"I'm not sure, and by the looks of it this UNSC appears to be military." She-ra explained.

Bow's face paled slightly.

if this UNSC were military then the rebellion's gonna have their hands full. Another hostile faction added to the already escalating war with the horde would create an entire plethora of problems.

A massive sonic boom shakes him out of his thoughts as the unknown ship She-ra encountered earlier finally makes contact with the ground, causing the trees in the vicinity to roll back from the force of the explosion.

Chunks of debris flew towards the rebel camp, creating a wave of panic among its inhabitants.

"Everyone take cover!" Bow yells as metal debris crash into tents and wagons, while Rebels and Twiggets alike ran and screamed for their lives as hell rained around them.

Among the chaos, the beautiful champion of freedom decided to take action.

"Sword to shield!" She-ra yells as her sword transforms into her signature shield.

Managing to move around quickly, blocking some bits of debris - and saving a few people in the process - the hailing metal storm finally died down.

She-ra did a headcount. A majority of minor injures, a minority of some severe injuries, some scratches and burns from close calls and - to her relief - no casualties. She sighed in relief. The magic that protected their hidden base did its job spectacularly.

"Good..." She-ra murmured softly, bending down to assist an injured Twigget. The diminutive creature hisses in pain, causing She-ra to retract her hand instinctively, in fear of hurting the Twigget even further.

"Let me heal your wound." She-ra assures in a soothing voice, moving to place her hand on the Twigget's wound. The Twigget, though in immense pain, promptly lets She-ra touch the wound. Her hands glow a silvery white while she chants a magical phrase.

"For the Honor of Greyskull, let these wounds be healed!"

After a few moments, the Twigget's pained expression was replaced with a relieved one, human hands revealing that the wound was instantly healed. The Twigget bowed its head in thanks and ran off to find its other companions. She-ra smiled while got up and turned to head for the Medical tents to help the healers with the rest of the wounded rebels.

Spending time helping and healing the wounded in the medical tents, she contemplated in silence. The strangled cries of pain and sorrow that echoed throughout the room did not help at all. She then decided it was time to make their move.

"Bow, get Glimmer, Kowl, and Madame Razz, we're heading out."

Bow, still recovering from the sudden attack on their camp, looked at her with a bewildered expression.

"Go? Go where?" He immediately regretted his words.

The moment She-ra stopped abruptly and turned towards him, he shivered under the sudden uncharacteristic glare she sent him.

"We're going to the crash-site to find the people responsible." She-ra bluntly relies, glancing at the wounded rebels moaning inn pain.

The archer frowns at the tone of exasperation in her voice as she embarks on Swiftwind and flies towards the smoking crater on the far side of Whispering Woods.

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><p>Northern part of Whispering Woods - UNSC Forward unto Dawn crash-site<p>

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><p>She-ra gracefully disembarked off of Swiftwind, stroking the mane of her four-legged companion.<p>

She widens her eyes in shock at the sight before her.

There were chunks of metal debris everywhere, wheeled vehicles and strange weapons lay scattered around the vicinity, damaged crates spilling out even more mechanical weapons and tools. She-ra took a step forward, carefully picking up one of the strange firearms.

She closely examines the rifle with measured scrutiny.

It was a rather strange weapon, that's for sure. It had a blocky shape to it, with a sturdy hand guard where the trigger and the magazine was located. The front of the weapon was armored with a powered-down screen at the back, the bottom front having a black handle grip and a deactivated flashlight. The rifle also had a long 24 inch barrel at the front that fires whatever ammunition it spew out. She finds the clip at the bottom end of the rifle, and ejects it. Taking the clip in her other hand, what she found inside definitely took her by surprise.

"Bullets?" She realizes quietly.

Her mother once told her that her homeworld manufactures and uses projectile-based weapons, but the weapon and the ammunition were nothing like she'd ever seen. Even so, firearms of these kind were rare on Etheria, since most of the leading military like the Horde use laser and other unorthodox weaponry. The weapon itself looks too advanced to be something created from her mother's home. Even the bullets look abnormally large. She frowns, reloading the weapon with the current clip.

Then again, both are too foreign to be made anywhere on Etheria for the matter.

Finding a button with a symbol on it, she activates the weapon. It powers up an electronic ammo counter and a spade-shaped compass currently pointing in a different direction. Thirty-two appears on the screen, showing the rounds currently inside the clip.

"Hmm...interesting" She-ra said curiously. The blonde champion turns her head, vaguely hearing the familiar voices calling out towards her.

"She-ra! She-ra!" Turning her back, she saw the owners of the calls.

"Bow, Kowl, Glimmer, Madame Razz and Broom, so good to see you guys alive and well." She-ra replies with a genuine smile.

"And to you too sweety." Madame Razz added happily.

"But what exactly are we looking for?" Kowl hooted nervously. The blonde maiden smiles at the bird's characteristic nervousness, reaching out with her free hand to soothingly pet the floating creature from its worries.

"That is what we're going to find out Kowl." She-ra reassures softly.

She takes a firm stance and aims the rifle at a nearby tree. She slowly pulls the trigger, causing the weapon to spit out a 7.62x51 mm Full Jacket round. In milliseconds, the bullet travels through the air and lodges into the tree, creating a small but noticeable hole in the bark. The group jumps back in utter surprise from the loud discharge while She-ra flinches from the sudden recoil.

"That hurts..." She-ra pouts, dropping the weapon and rubbing her aching wrists.

"She-ra are you alright?" Bow asks in concern, running up beside her.

"I'm fine, lets go to the wreckage, see what we can find more." The group nods in agreement and began to head out.

She-ra suddenly stops, remembering something important. She then backtracks to where she had left the strange rifle on the ground. Bending down, she picked up the advanced weapon, deciding to keep it for herself. For unknown reasons, she found herself liking the alien firearm. The surprisingly light weight and the blocky but comfortable body of the rifle felt right in her hands, despite the powerful recoil it produces. She places her sword in its sheath in favor of her newly acquired weapon, grabbing a few spare clips scattered nearby, and sprints to catch up to the group far away.

Catching up and a minor explanation regarding her brief absence, they head towards the wreckage. Unbeknownst to them, a certain someone was going to interrupt them of their search.

A new but familiar voice calls out to them, immediately stopping then in their tracks.

A voice that they've long since dreaded.

"Rrroowwwr! Not so fast _rebels._" The last word filled with pure distain and malice. Turning towards the voice, She-ra instantly recognizes the owner.

"Catra."

One of the force captains of the Horde, Catra was rather infamous for having the ability to transform into a purple, battle-ready panther. Her source of power comes in the form of her signature mask. A mask that she had stolen from the Queen of the Magicats.

She-ra raises her newly acquired rifle at the Horde captain while the rest of the group bring out their respective weaponry. Broom and Kowl just hung back, ready to support their comrades. They stop when Catra suddenly interrupts them.

"Nnnoot so fast She-ra, I have families hostage who would _love_ to be slaves to the Horde, _if _you and your pathetic rebel friends don't surrender to us." Catra adds arrogantly. She-ra continued her aim on her enemy, unbelieving of her threat, but suddenly has second thoughts when she saw the captive family being brought up

The mothers were scared out of their wits, wrapping their arms protectively around their oblivious children while the fathers unsuccessfully tried to beg for their release. They were surrounded by platoons of Horde soldiers and Destructo-Tanks, aiming their weapons and cannons at the rebel team while some of the troopers were holding the families hostage. She-ra kept a external aura of calm, but internally, she was extremely furious that someone like Catra would stoop so low as to use innocent civilians for Human shields.

Especially when used as leverage against her.

But before the blonde rebel could voice her thoughts, the blue haired commander quickly cut her off.

"What is it going to be She-ra: innocent families becoming slaves, or you surrender and I'll let these pathetic farmers go." Catra hissed forcefully. She-ra, tense and battle ready suddenly remembered her role.

_Your supposed to protect the innocent, give them hope, freedom. Even if it means throwing away you own._

She-ra sighed in resignation, slowly lowering her rifle.

"Ok Catra you win, we surrender..." The others exchanged worried glances and began to protest, but when they saw the serious and saddened expression She-ra gave them, they slowly backed down in defeat. Catra laughed gleefully.

"Excellent, troopers cuff them." One of the Horde troopers saluted.

"Yes Force Captain." The trooper began to arrest the rebel group, both sides unaware that they were being watched.

* * *

><p>A few feet away, the Chief and the Arbiter were observing the whole episode from afar, hidden from plain sight due to their Active Camo.<p>

"Taking families from their homes and holding them hostage?!" An agitated Thel asks John, anger boiling up in him.

"Do these mechanical machines have no honor?" He then murmurs quietly in contempt.

The Spartan doesn't reply, instead focusing his attention on the blonde human in lead of the motley group. He was slightly surprised that the strangely dressed female was holding an MA5C Assault Rifle in her hands, aiming with precision and stance that would belong to a highly experienced ODST. She carried herself with an air of calm and confidence, seemingly indifferent about the grim situation. His decades worth of experience on the battlefield say otherwise. Her eyes were a stark contrast to her angelic exterior, burning with a deep and intense anger that would make an enraged Brute jealous. She was an interesting individual, and he made careful note to keep a close eye on her.

"Apparently not. No doubt that they were programmed like that, but we can use that to our advantage." John then replies through his helmet. Inside the armor, Cortana voices no question, merely laying back to listen to her protector.

"If we can give those locals a good enough distraction, we can help them and free the hostages." John explains. The Elite looks at the Spartan skeptically, arching an eyebrow. If Sangheili even had any.

"And how do we supposed to do that, Spartan?" Thel asks rhetorically.

The Spartan silently cocks his Battle Rifle in response.

"Just follow my lead." John replies.

Turning towards the Arbiter, the Chief asks "Ready for a fight?"

Thel, his mandibles turning into a Sangheili equivalent of a grin, pulls out his deactivated Energy sword, The _Prophet's Bane_. Wielding his Battle Rifle, Johns aims his weapon's reticule at the head of the mechanical solider standing near the blonde woman in front of the surrounded rebel group, and pulls the trigger.

* * *

><p>All hell broke loss.<p>

The Horde solider who was responsible for cuffing She-ra suddenly got his cranium blown off like confetti, falling to the ground in a heap of wires and metal. The blonde female squeaks in surprise, falling back to safety with the rest of her bewildered group. Another group of Horde soldiers falls victim to the sudden attack as the heads of each one suddenly explode, falling over in piles of destroyed scraps of metal.

"What was that!" Catra hisses in surprise.

"I don't know!?" a Horde trooper responds before his head detonates into a hundred metal fragments.

Catra fearfully ducks as hypersonic projectiles came whizzing passed her head, instead puncturing another one of the trooper's clunky skull, terminating it instantly.

"All troops open fire!" Catra orders. The robotic troopers that had survived the ordeal began open fire in the direction where the shots have originated from.

Unfortunately for them, their eventual doom was merely right around the corner.

A trooper looked back to see a towering figure suddenly in front of him, and didn't get to react quickly enough as the figure pulled out a two-bladed energy weapon of some kind. With a single swing, the energy blades easily bisects the trooper in half. All of the troopers stopped firing and looked at the newcomer while the shocked Catra examined the creature from the safety of her vehicle.

The alien was massive! It stood over 2 meters tall with ceremonially-plated armor with exotic markings all over it. It had a reptilian-like appearance, short upper and lower legs, and it had 4 digits, 2 middle and 2 thumbs on each hand. The two noticeable things that frightened her the most about the creature is that it had quadruple-hinged mandibles instead of a jaw, all of them showing rows of dangerously sharp teeth, and the piercing yellow eyes that looked directly at her. The remaining troopers fired at the alien, hoping to cut it down with laser fire.

That was not the case. To the Hordes and Rebel's surprise, the crimson lasers simply bounced off the alien, blue light shimmering all over its body. The failed attack seemed to only piss it off. The alien roared as it charged at the platoon, blocking incoming fire with its plasma sword, and sliced through Horde troopers who were idiotic enough to stand in its path.

It became a blur of motion, the alien ripping through the automatons with incredible speed that the grey metal plating was cut like tissue paper. The alien charges at one of the Destructo-tanks, instinctively dodging the laser fire from infantry and the tank itself, and latches itself on the vehicle. It pulls out a blue orb, and activates it, the orb glowing a distinctive light-blue aura, like a ball of blue flame. The alien warrior promptly chucks the orb down the tank's hatch, and jumps off. Seconds later the grenade detonates, engulfing the entire tank in a mix of a hellish red and blue flame.

She-ra, mesmerized by the graceful yet destructive show, slowly began to take the aliens's example, mercilessly pouring in her own fire. The armor-piercing rounds fired from her MA5C rifle easily tore apart the robots that were unlucky enough to had been in her sights. Remembering bits and pieces from her past life, she shot in short and controlled bursts, to compensate for the recoil. The weapon then softly clicked as the weapon was dry of any ammunition, the electronic screen reporting blinking zeros.

This didn't stop her.

Ejecting the spent magazine, she nonchalantly reloads the weapon with one of the spare clips she had obtained, and continued to rain hell upon her confused enemies. Her friends merely stood back and watched, eyes wide and jaws agape at their leader's unexpected skill with the firearm and at the strange but slightly satisfying show in front of them.

The alien proceeds to engage the remaining troops, round-house kicking an unfortunate Horde soldier in the process, hurling him into his oblivious comrades with tremendous force. Some of the troopers began to run, but only for their heads to be blown off in the process. The alien stopped, all around him were piles of sizzling metal piles cut by it's superheated plasma-bladed weapon.

"What are you doing you imbeciles!" Catra screeched, frustrated by her army's embarrassing show of incompetence. "Shoot them!"

Her tantrum came to a complete halt when the creature turned towards her vehicle slowly.

"Come out you coward and give me a worthy fight!" the alien roared out challengely, swinging the sword through the air while staring at her with its intimidating yellow eyes.

Catra, scared out of her mind, fearfully weighed her options while she began to shake in terror. Run away, or stand her ground with the remaining forces she had to continue fighting the alien. One that had easily dispatched half of her her troops in seconds. The very same one that can very well cut her up into charred pieces of meat, panther-form or not.

Definitely the former

"Everyone, retreat!" Catra screamed as tanks began to fall back while the remaining Horde soldiers began running on foot to the safety of the Fright Zone. She will need to report this back to Hordak immediately, hopeful that he would overlook her failure to capture She-ra.

The alien simply snorted at the Horde's retreat, deactivated its energy sword. Chasing them wasn't worth its time apparently.

"Cowards." The alien murmured as it turned to the rebel group and read their expressions.

Awe, shock, respect, fear.

She-ra was still shocked and shaken what she had just witness and from the fighting she fought herself. She lowered her assault rifle to face the ground.

"Who are you?" She asked wearily but curiously. It was clearly amused by their reaction and began to introduce itself.

"I am Thel 'Vadum, Arbiter of the Sangheili people. I come to you as an ally and friend."

Their expressions began to relax when a humanoid suddenly materialized out of thin air carrying a firearm similar to that She-ra currently held. The rebel group recoiled slightly, taking a step back at the appearance of the green armored cyborg. The two groups stared at each other for a moment, the green cyborg staring intently at She-ra and vice versa, it's face hidden by the helmet's opaque golden visor. Shortly afterwards, Kowl's voice broke the awkward silence.

"Well, things just got interesting..." He remarked sarcastically.


	4. Chapter 4: The Enemy of my Enemy

**Author's Note: Wow Chapter 4! Things are getting better and better! Sorry if I haven't updated for so long. Lordy lord... School can get so frustrating and stressful! Enough of that lets get on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any Halo or She-ra content, they belong to their respective owners; 343 Industries and Filmation.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: The Enemy of my Enemy is a Friend<p>

* * *

><p>2557 AD - UNSC Forward unto Dawn crash-site<p>

* * *

><p>While the Arbiter continued his relentless assault against the grey automatons, Cortana immediately hacked into the planet's data systems with significant ease, digesting all the information they needed about the inhabitants and their surroundings. She quickly found out that the clanky robots were part of an organization called the "Horde", who apparently rule "Etheria" under an Iron fist and use fear and opposition to keep the inhabitants in check. They also force people from their homes for either slave labor or for cruel entertainment. Cortana's suddenly felt resentment for the Horde, the feeling beginning to grow rapidly.<p>

The rather oddly dressed people were called the "Great Rebellion", who dislike the Horde's unfair taxes and treatment and dedicated their cause in liberating the planet from the Horde's dominion. The "Muscle Maiden" was called "She-ra", the Rebellion's champion and was famously known to thwart every offensive the Horde threw at her thanks to her "magical" super-human abilities. Cortana smiled while her respect for the rebels grew, impressed with the number of victories the rebellion had.

Even when they were heavily outclassed, primitive in technology and were terribly outnumbered, they had the tactical strength and resourcefulness to make the Horde look like incompetent fools of themselves. Cortana highty doubted that the Horde learn from their mistakes if they were somehow defeated constantly, and sometimes comically, by this motley crew of Rebels.

She knew that there weren't many people in the universe brave enough to stand up against tyrannical forces like the Horde, and this particular group were fighting for a good cause. Compared to the Insurrectionists the UNSC was fighting against before and during the Human-Covenant war, the Great Rebellion were practically saints.

There were surprisingly no reports of human, or monsters and hybrids in this world's case, casualties on the Horde's side. How the rebels were able to prevent inflicting death was beyond the smart A.I. and she doubted that she would anyway. It was a short but yet surprising thought coming from a pseudo-sentient being of genius-level intelligence. Cortana suddenly snapped out of her thoughts, the Chief's voice called out to her.

"Cortana, what did you find?" John grunts quietly, easily dodging a wave of ruby lasers.

One does manage to hit him, but the MJOLNIR's shield system did its trick. A golden blanket of energy absorbed the crimson laser while only taking down a small portion of his shields. The golden light surrounds him, slowly dissipating as the shields began to recharge with a low hum. The Chief sighs in relief, glad that the surprisingly weak lasers didn't do any serious damage to him.

He continued to watch Thel massacre the Horde troopers, the Sangheili destroying one of their repulsive-looking tanks with a single plasma grenade. Satisfaction coursed through him when the vehicle exploded into a brilliant mixture of blue and red fire.

He turned his attention to the blonde woman, impressed and fascinated at her skills with the Assault Rifle. It was clearly her first time using it, yet she wielded the automatic rifle like she was practically born to use it. The many Horde robots that fell under her fire were a testimony to her accuracy.

"Not much, but I can tell you the basic information about the planet and its natives." Cortana replied through the internal speakers.

While she began to cycle through the layers of data she acquired, the Master Chief decides to help the Arbiter deal with the Horde presence. His green armor blended with the environment, silently sneaking behind the distracted forces like a deadly predator. Certain that the hostile forces are unaware of his presence due to his invisibility, John reaches for his armor's sheath, silently pulling out his personal combat knife.

"From what I've been able to gather, we're caught in a middle of a civil war." Cortana pointed out.

The Chief slowly sneaks up on a pair of Horde troopers who are unfortunate enough to stand near the bush, unaware that impending doom was upon them. The Spartan quickly sneaked up on the first trooper, snapping the neck of the robot with his bare hands. The victim's comrade barely had time to react before John twisted around to meet the second trooper in blinding speed, lodging his combat knife into the clunky skull of the victim, terminating the robot with swift precision.

Within 2 seconds, the formerly functional robots ceased to be. Retreating back into the bushes with the bodies in tow, the Spartan couldn't help but shake his head, disappointed by the lack of attention for their surroundings.

_'I've seen Grunts more alert than this.' _He mused.

The Chief silently adds a suppressor to his Battle Rifle. He planned to pick off the robots without the loss of cover and to assist Thel simultaneously. Simple guerrilla warfare, a tactically sound strategy considering the Horde's lack of attention to their surroundings. That was their first and final mistake. John aims his BR at the Horde troopers farthest from the confrontation and pulls the trigger.

The suppressor did its job, not betraying the usual loud ballistic crack discharged from standard UNSC weaponry instead giving off a muzzled, unrecognizable crack. It made it easier for the Chief to pick off the enemy soldiers, the suppressor lessening the recoil. The muzzled sounds betrayed no attention from the nearby robots. They turned their heads bewildered, unaware to what was picking off their comrades. The Spartan fires again, three silenced semi-armor piercing rounds ejected from the cartridge and into the head of another trooper, ending its service in the Horde in mere milliseconds.

"According to the planet's data systems, the robots we are currently engaging are called the 'Horde'. Apparently they rule this planet called Etheria under a dictatorship and keep the natives in check by using fear and opposition, and they also use some villagers as slaves and tax payers to grow their presence on the planet." Cortana added in with a slight bitter edge in her voice.

The Spartan had to sympathize with her. The moment the word "Slave" entered his brain, he already felt indignation burning inside of him like a fusion reactor. During the Human-Covenant war, the aliens would often ship civilians and prisoner of war from fallen Human worlds to their vessels for either difficult slave labor or to be butchered up and served as food to voracious Jirahanae and Kig-yar. It was a bitter reminder to Humanity of what they've fought to protect, only to fall when victory seemed near.

John shook those thoughts aside and immediately focused to the task at hand.

The Horde army suddenly fell back when the female Horde commander screeched a retreat. Tanks and lighter vehicles reversed while the mechanical troopers began to run in the opposite direction, leaving himself and his Sangheili ally with the stunned group of the Great Rebellion and the hostages.

"Cowards" The Chief heard Thel grumble in distain. Soundlessly, they both turn towards the Rebel group. John was tempted to smirk at the bemused and fearful reactions from the oddly dressed individuals. It was obvious that they haven't seen a creature so alien and intimidating as the Arbiter. The jittery shaking from the strange owl creature and, to his slight surprise, a sentient broomstick was evident enough.

"Who are you?" The Spartan heard the individual know as She-ra begin to speak. A mixture of both curiosity and apprehension were laced in her voice.

John heard a light chuckle from the Elite. The latter clicking his mandibles in amusement.

"I am Thel 'Vadum, Arbiter of the Sangheili people. I come to you as an ally and friend." He replied with his right hand over his chest in a Sangheili salute, showing no hostile and malice that would have shown years ago but calm and peaceful intention.

The Spartan and the Arbiter can already see the Rebels' expression softened at the latter's response, but the mixed emotions still remained, mainly confusion and curiosity. They can tell that the group were confused at the mention of the words 'Arbiter' and 'Sangheili'. The alien words rolled of their tongue with some difficulty. John quietly smirked. They are going to get one hell of a surprise.

_Time to make my entrance._

He promptly deactivates his Active Camouflage, revealing himself to the Rebels and the Arbiter. The relieved and softened expression that they wore moments ago was instantly replaced with shocked and alert reactions, taking a step back as they saw a seven foot giant wielding a rather advanced rifle appear from thin air. Thea's face betrayed no emotion. The Sangheili knew that the Spartan was nearby giving him support. He himself took on an entire army of robotic imbeciles with nothing but the _Prophet's Bane _and a plasma grenade.

John took the time to analyze the details of the Rebellion's Champion. The one known as She-ra, he silently admitted, was strikingly beautiful. Baby blue eyes with waist-long blonde hair flowing down her shoulders with a golden tiara to hold it back. Her costume included a short white battle dress decorated with flower-like patterns, a golden band surrounds her throat, holding her red cape. She wears golden brown boots and long golden bracers that extend from her elbows to her wrists.

Besides the interesting choice in costume, He could tell in her eyes that she is a strong-willed, fearless individual, who believes in doing the right thing for others. He faintly nodded with respect for the woman, which was rare for a him to do, even for a complete stranger no less. If somehow she were to be born in the confines of the UNSC, then she would have been a perfect SPARTAN II. Even better, she would probably be quick friends with Sgt. Johnson, if the gun-ho Marine were somehow still alive.

The Spartan couldn't help but let a memory slip by his head.

* * *

><p><strong>[Flashback]<strong>

_"Yank me Chief." Cortana ordered. The Spartan pulled the chip from his Neural Implant, and inspects the blue center that glowed with artificial life._

_"I'm not going to lose her too." Sgt. Johnson said. The Chief tossed the chip at the Marine, who caught said chip without difficulty, and started to walk towards the central controls. John and Thel stayed back, scanning the rear for anymore Flood with their weapons. The Sergeant Major could faintly hear humming, and saw former Monitor of Installation 04, 343 Guilty Spark, floating towards him._

_"Oh hello, wonderful news Reclaimer! The Installation is almost complete!" the Forerunner A.I exclaimed cheerfully while floating near the grizzled veteran. The Marine couldn't help but roll his eyes in exasperation while striding towards the control terminal with Cortana's chip in one hand and his Spartan Laser in the other._

_"Terrific" Johnson said __sarcastically. If the Forerunner Ancilla felt annoyance towards the sarcasm, he did a good job of hiding it, instead continued to float beside the Sergeant Major._

_"Yes...Isn't it" The Monitor deadpanned rather nonchalantly. The Chief turned his head slightly towards Spark, suddenly feeling wary of the Forerunner A.I, even if he is still an ally. Something about him seemed...off._

_"I have begun my simulations. No promises, but initial results indicate this facility should be ready to fire in just a few more days." Guilty Spark said. At that statement, Sgt. Johnson sent a sharp glare towards the Monitor._

_"We don't have a few more days!" He replies sternly. The Forerunner A.I jerked his head left and right, in utter shock._

_"Bu-bu-but a premature firing would destroy the Ark!" He exclaimed in disbelief. Johnson shot another annoyed glance at Spark, then looked back down at the console._

_"Deal with it." He countered curtly, not wanting to deal with the bickering A.I anymore. Guilty Spark lowered his head, glaring at Johnson._

_"You'll destroy this Installation..." The Monitor murmured in realization._

_The Chief and the Arbiter continued to scan the perimeter with their respective weapons until they heard an agonized scream behind them. The duo turned immediately, and looked in shock and horror to see the Sergeant Major falling to the floor with a smoking hole on his back; the Monitor's eye and the rest of his body, instead of the soft blue that the A.I usually wore, was now glowing a fiery red, signifying his agitated nature._

_"Unacceptable, UNACCEPTABLE! Absolutely unacceptable!" Spark screamed in fury. He turns towards the Spartan, the super-solider runs to Johnson in attempts to aid the fallen Marine. The unstable A.I fires at the Chief with a large hardlight laser, abruptly stopping the Spartan mid-charge. John let out a pained grunt as he was thrown back by the powerful attack, his shields already depleted completely while his chest smoked with damage._

_"Protocol dictates action! I see now that helping you was wrong!" The Forerunner A.I accused vehemently. Guilty Spark turns to the Arbiter, who roared fiercely at his sudden betrayal, igniting the Prophet's Bane. The rampant Monitor fired a laser beam at the furious Sangheili, hammering him all the way out of the Control Room. The Chief got up slowly, with his shields recharged, and stalked towards Spark. The A.I notices the Spartan, and sent another blast of hardlight laser at him, forcefully pushing John back to one knee. The Monitor's color returned from the resentful red__ back to its vibrant blue._

_"You are the child of my makers; Inheritor of all they've left behind, **you are Forerunner**." Guilty Spark stated. The Chief looked up at the rampant A.I in shock at that revelation. He's Forerunner? Along with the rest of Humanity?_

_"But this ring-" The Monitor's eye returns back to its agitated red. "-is mine!" _

_Spark shot a laser beam at John, the Spartan narrowly dodged the powerful attack and picking up his Battle Rifle from the floor in the process. The Chief fired numerous hypersonic bursts from his rifle, but all of the bullets bounced harmlessly against the Monitor's metallic body._

_"I take no pleasure in doing what must be done."_

_The A.I fires another hardlight laser, his body coated in a massive golden aura, pushing John back. The massive laser struck the Spartan's Battle Rifle, melting the weapon in seconds, rendering it useless. The Chief idly tosses the partially melted weapon aside, equipping his secondary Assault Rifle, firing in controlled bursts. But like the Battle Rifle, the bullets from the automatic weapon did nothing to inflict damage at the rampant Monitor._

_"You do not deserve this ring!"  
><em>

_John slightly flinches as a stray laser beam managed to graze him, taking out a quarter of his shields. 'Got to be careful' He silently thought. The Spartan fire more bursts of armor-piercing rounds at the A.I, each one seems to aggravate the enraged Spark even further.__  
><em>

_"I have kept it safe, it belongs to me!"_

_The severely injured Johnson, who went unnoticed the entire battle, had enough strength to slowly raised his Spartan Laser at the oblivious Monitor._

_"Not for long!" He gruffly said, the Nonlinear Rifle charging a bright red in the process. A deafening boom followed moments later, as Guilty Spark was struck by a powerful red laser stronger than his own, taking moderate damage. The rampant Monitor was pushed back by the heavy kinetic force, and flew off in astonishment. The Chief took the time to rush over to the downed Johnson, who gave him a pained smile and tiredly offered John his Spartan Laser. The Spartan took the weapon without hesitation, and nods at his closest comrade in thanks._

_"Kick his ass..." Johnson weakly whispers, and finally sinks to __unconsciousness. The Chief glances at the Sergeant Major one last time, then equips the Spartan Laser over his shoulder. Guilty Spark returns slightly tilting, his body shows visible damage inflicted from Johnson's attack._

_"Damage! Damage! That hurt Reclaimer!" _

_Ignoring the miffed Monitor's hollering, John charges the Non-Linear rifle, a blinking laser pointer painted on Spark. The Spartan nearly misses an energy beam, and fires a fully charged laser, finding __its mark. The A.I took full brunt from the blast, his body revealed to have taken more damage, while floating at a more tilted angle. The bulbous body began to spark and leak blue plasma._

_Guilty Spark, now impaired, began to speak incoherently, as he continued to fire beams at the evading Spartan. Fortunately for the super solider, all of them missed mark. Finding an opening, John charges his weapon, once again blinking a laser pointer at the damaged Monitor until the Spartan Laser fired, a massive crimson ray of light once again strikes the Forerunner ancilla. Spark's spherical body was practically distorted, bits of the Forerunner alloy sheared off from the blasts, sparking violently while more __plasma began to leak from the Monitor's charred sides._

_The rampant A.I surprisingly still had the will to fire one more laser at the Chief while mumbling inarticulately, the nimble Spartan dodged the slow attack without trouble. John sensed the end point of the battle, and hoisted the Spartan Laser, charging for one final shot. The weapon fires, the last laser beam scores a direct hit, causing the doomed Guilty Spark to glow in a radiant blue light._

_"Oh myyyyyyyyy-aaahh!" _

_The glowing Monitor explodes, shards and pieces of metal began to rain all over the Control Room; 343 Guilty Spark now ceased to exist. Satisfied with Spark's destruction, the Chief and the now recovered Arbiter rush over to checkup on Johnson. They bend over him, the injured marine barely alive, looking at them with a pained, saddened gaze._

_"I'm getting you out of here." John said. The words of reassurance did little to help the marine, instead shakes his head in disagreement._

_With a weak grunt, Johnson slowly peered at the golden visor of his comrade-in-arms._

_"No...no you're not." He replied painfully._

_ Johnson proceeded to grasp the Chief's forearm, who didn't bother to resist, and placed Cortana's chip into the Spartan's open palm._

_"Don't, don't let her go."_

_The wounded sergeant let out another weak cough._

_"Don't...ever let her go."_

_Johnson's eyes widened and painfully grunts, his time in the land of the living almost over._

_"Send me out...with a bang..."_

_With his final words, Avery Johnson succumbs to his fatal wounds, his eyes glaze over, and falls limp in John's arms. The spectating Thel lowered his head in sorrow and admiration to the fallen Human. Closing Johnson's eyelids and taking his dog-tags, the Chief takes Cortana's chip, releasing her into Halo's control core, while gripping the chip in his hand tightly. The hologram of Cortana appears and stares at Johnson's body in sadness, then looks at John._

_"Chief...I'm so sorry." She said melancholy, bowing her head. The Spartan felt a hand on his shoulder plate, and turn to see it was the Arbiter's, glaring at the deceased hero in respect._

_"Your sergeant was a noble warrior, one filled with strength and courage. I'm honored to serve by him, Human or otherwise." He said attentively._

_ The Master Chief didn't respond, only looking down in silence. John had lost many comrades during the war, some were his brothers and sisters he trained with during his childhood on Reach, but none had ever affected him like the death he witnessed just a few moments ago. _

_Sgt. Johnson was a man he highly respected in battle and one of the few individuals he trusts with his first name. The man had skill and integrity that he never witnessed in any other UNSC marine, had courage and strength that can easily rival up to a Spartan and Sangheili, and his gun-ho attitude; everyone will miss it. John was glad to serve by him, either blowing Covenant to kingdom come, or preventing Flood and rampant A.I's from destroying all life in the galaxy. Right now, he was going to make sure that the sergeant's death was not going to be in vain._

_The Chief nods to Cortana, who returns it and turns around, and with a simple gesture, activates Halo. She touches the chip, uploading herself back into the device. John plugs the chip back into his Neural Implant at the back of his helmet, and turns around while a massive column of blue light erupts from the Control Room's core._

_The entire room begins to shudder._

* * *

><p>John glances at Johnson's dog tags currently placed at one of his armor's magnetic clamps. He gives a silent sigh; he will definitely miss him. The Spartan focuses his attention back to the rebel group.<p>

"Well, things just got interesting..." The Bird-like creature in the group hooted.

The Spartan blinked his eyes multiple times, the finger gripped on the trigger of his Battle Rifle slightly twitched by the fact that the Owl-Koala creature suddenly spoke. Not that he was fully surprised, he had seen stranger. Cortana was bewildered as he was and accidentally spoke through the external speakers.

"Did that thing just talk?" Cortana asks, causing the Rebel group to slightly jump at the female voice. The Spartan just silently smirked in amusement.

"Relax." The Master Chief said in his usual baritone voice, pulling out the data chip and holding it in his hands.

"It's my A.I Cortana, her programming allows her to use my armor's speaker system to communicate. He explains as the chip projects a holographic image of Cortana. With data streams flow throughout her curvaceous body, her artificial eyes pop open as her head looks up at the Rebels.

"Greetings I'm UNSC A.I CTN 0452-9, designated as Cortana. Nice to meet you all." The A.I greeted with a smile. The rebels acknowledged back with a smile of their own and turned towards the Spartan, waiting for a name.

"I'm the Master Chief, Petty Officer Sierra 117 of the UNSC navy." John greeted reluctantly. He decided to go through his usual title, as per UNSC protocol. Otherwise, Chief Mendez would have probably given him a chewing of a lifetime. The Spartan nearly shuddered at the thought.

She-ra was rather bewildered at the sheer militaristic tone of his greeting, but just shook it off immediately. There will be a time for questions later.

"Nice to meet you, my name is She-" She-ra started before the Chief cuts her off with a simple wave of his hand.

"We know who you are." The Spartan stated in a matter-of-fact tone. The blonde rebel seemed to be taken back by his sudden answer, but quickly regained her composure.

"How?" She-ra asks arching an eyebrow, her friends showing the same reaction.

"The Horde's data banks, I hacked into them before my alien ally here started the commotion with you Horde friends." Cortana replied sarcastically.

"They're not our friends!" the one known as Bow retorted, looking exasperated.

'Obviously he didn't know what sarcasm meant' John amusingly thought.

"That makes the two of us." The Spartan heard Thel growl out threateningly, prompting Bow to instantly shut up.

The purple-haired rebel named Glimmer raised her hands at the Sangheili's hostile tone, fisting them into a pair of glowing, bright lights while the raggedy dressed witch called Madame Razz raised her wand, pointing at the princess' same target. In response, the irritated Elite ignited his energy sword, growling as if daring them to attack. John raises his Battle Rifle, both of them aiming their respective weapons at the pointing rebels. She-ra saw a fight threatening to come out, and decided to put an end to it before it grows out of hand.

"Enough!" She-ra cried out, standing in between the two groups and hold out her hands on both sides.

"Violence will not solve our problems." She cried out. The maiden gave each group a subtle glance.

"How about we bring you guys back to our camp, there we can trade information and hopefully become allies; I would rather avoid unnecessary fighting." She-ra suggested in a softer tone while holding up her hands up in a friendly gesture. She glared at Bow and the two other females dangerously before looking back to the trio.

The Chief, Cortana and the Arbiter looked at each for a few moments before nodding in agreement, the two comrades lowering their weapons.

The blonde women was right. They haven't had much of a choice either. Their chance of survival is in the hands of this "Great Rebellion" and that's a chance they were have to be willing to take. Fighting on two fronts wouldn't be beneficial either.

"Deal." The Spartan replied blankly.

She-ra smiled warmly, while the rest of her companions heavily sighed in relief, glad that the whole confrontation didn't turn into another all-out firefight. She left, along with her friends to comfort the enslaved families the Horde held hostage while the Arbiter turned to John.

"Well that could have gone better. Now we're at the mercy of this so-called _Great Rebellion_..." Thel momentarily paused, deactivating his energy sword.

"How do we now that these Humans would keep their end of the bargain?"

The Master Chief silently glances at the comforting rebels. "We don't."

"Wonderful." The Sangheili mumbled out.

"I don't like this anymore than you do, we've only met these people, half of them aren't even Human." Cortana chirped, giving a strange look specifically at the seemingly sentient broom standing next to the purple skinned witch.

"But we don't have much of a choice. We can't possibly negotiate with the Horde, and to all honesty I don't know how long we can survive against them before they overwhelm us with massive numbers or worst case scenario, you guys most likely would run out of ammo." Cortana adds in, pauses as she takes a look at the wreckage of the _Dawn._

_ "_Besides, in these type of circumstances, it's nice to have friends in this kind of situation."

John and Thel stayed silent, somewhat uncomfortable with the optimism. The two glance to see She-ra and her rebel friends cautiously approach them.

"We're ready." She said, silently gazing at the two titans.

The Master Chief and the Arbiter merely gave a nod of head towards the wreckage of the _Dawn _in search of extra weapons and supplies.

In his search, The Chief obtained 3 MA5D assault rifles with many spare clips. 2 silenced M7S Case-less Submachine guns and BR85HB SR battle rifles were salvaged with more spare clips of ammunition. Collecting a DMR and Saw with 5 more clips, he also found a 99 Anti-Material Sniper Rifle with a few extra clips of deadly armor-piercing rounds, M45D Tactical Shotgun with 24 spare gauge cartridges and a M41 Rocket launcher with a few Anti-Vehicle rockets.

The Arbiter gathers 2 Type-25 Plasma Rifles and Needlers, 3 Covenant Type-51 Carbines, a few Plasma pistols, a Concussion rifle, a fully charged Beam Rifle and Plasma Turret, and a Fuel Rod gun with 15 shots to spare. In reluctant distain, the Sangheili also grabs a few Jiralhanae Spikers, Maulers, and a Gravity Hammer. If the situation were under any different circumstances, the massive pile of both UNSC and Covenant weaponry would have been a bit overkill for just two users.

They pill the weapons in a neat stack and look around more to find multiple M12 Warthogs scattered around the vicinity, one still visibly intact.

"A Warthog!" Cortana chirps in surprise. "And still in one piece."

Sure enough the Warthog was indeed unscathed, both the mounted M41 LAAG turret, and the four wheels were still attached to the vehicle itself. The Chief begins to position himself underneath the vehicle, grasping the metal frame alongside the driver seat.

"I see that your luck also made it through." Cortana adds in, rather pleased while crossing her arms together.

John couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. He began to lift the Warthog, holding the vehicle upward with his two armored hands.

"We make our own luck remember." He quoted.

He maneuvered the vehicle to be level with the ground, before finally flipping the Warthog right side up. The Chief's actions no doubt raised the attention of the rebels, his motion sensors pick up six now friendly dots a few feet away from him as he turns to see She-ra and her companions standing there.

Yet, only She-ra was the one that at least was surprised by the Spartan's enhanced abilities, causing John to raise a confused eyebrow; the rest of her companions looked like they have took the action in stride, but had seen this sort of thing on a much larger scale. He will need to ask questions concerning that topic once they have reached their camp. The Chief and Thel turned their attention to the ammo crates and plasma batteries needed for their weapons, as well as the food rations and medical supplies, and started to haul them to the Warthog.

"Fascinating..." She-ra silently mused as she watched the Spartan and the Sangheili load their weapons and metal containers of various size into the back of their strange vehicle. Many of them, She-ra noted, bore strange emblems she did not recognize. One that had particularly grabbed her attention was rather unique: A bird spreading its wings out while holding what appeared to be a planet in its talons, four words arced around the sphere, reading:

_United Nations Space Command._

"_So_ _that's_ _what_ _UNSC_ _stands for_..." She-ra thought to herself. The Spartan's voice called out to her, suddenly snapping her out of her thoughts.

"We're ready." The Princess of Power merely nods back and turns to her group.

"Lets go"


End file.
